FIRST UNOFFICIAL HUCKABEE FOR PRESIDENT CAMPAIGN BLOG
FOUNDED FEB. 14,2005
This blog was created and is maintained by people completely unconnected to Mike Huckabee, or any person or organization affiliated with Mike Huckabee. This is a grass roots effort to build awareness for-and support of-Mike Huckabee should he decide to run.
All original content (c) Copyright 2005 - 2013 by Mike Huckabee President 2008, 2012, and 2016. All rights reserved.

Saturday, July 21, 2007

First, my apologies for the rather light numbers of postings of late. Rest assured I am still here and still 110% behind Governor Huckabee for President. The problem is my "real" job has been going extremely well -- and as a result has been extremely busy. Not only am I slammed every day when I am in town, but I have also been working most evenings and weekends for the last month.

Unfortunately I don't see this slowing down until after the first of September. But....I remind you that as the first and longest-running Huckabee blog (founded Feb. 2005) there is a TON of content here I seriously doubt you have seen.

So.... take a gander at the side bar on the right hand side of this page, scroll down to the archive, choose any month dating back to 2005 and immerse yourself.

You'll be glad you did.

Now...a quick reminder to everyone that Gov. Huckabee needs your continued support and efforts to have a successfull showing in the Ames Straw Poll next month. THIS IS CRITICAL.

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Terry Mattingly teaches at Palm Atlantic University and is a senior fellow for journalism at the Council For Christian Colleges and Universities. He writes this weekly column for the Scripps Howard News Service, and has authored the following article that appears in the Catholic Exchange.

It is a fabulous article and we provide an excerpt for you below:

Mike Huckabee Still Believes

July 13, 2007

Like any other Bible Belt state, Arkansas contains more than its share of church camps.

Gov. Mike Huckabee thought about that after Hurricane Katrina. The ordained Southern Baptist minister also knew that the summer camping season was over and that thousands of people fleeing New Orleans had to go somewhere.

"I saw on TV people on the bridges of Interstate 10 stranded for days without water, and I thought, this isn't Rwanda. This isn't Indonesia. ...This was the United States of America," said the former governor, who is now part of the throng of Republican presidential candidates.

"These were the neighbors just to the south of us in Louisiana. It was beyond my comprehension that we could get TV cameras to those people but we couldn't get a boat or a bottle of water to them."

Thus, he asked religious leaders to open camps all over Arkansas to the evacuees, while urging the public to rally around this blunt public policy: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

This was one case in which critics didn't challenge his link between private faith and public action, said Huckabee, meeting with journalists at a recent talkback session at the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. This didn't turn into another nasty clash between God and the government because the need was great and this faith-based effort united citizens instead of dividing them.

No one debated that concept after Katrina. Thus, Huckabee listed several other unifying moral issues that he thinks deserve attention on the political right.

While Americans disagree on what to do about health-care reform, the nation could rally around efforts to provide health care for children, he said. Liberals and conservatives also could focus on funding health-care programs that fight the big three activities — smoking, overeating and "under-exercising" — that fuel soaring medical costs.

While Huckabee acknowledged that environmental issues cause heated debates, he believes that it's time for conservatives to become more involved in efforts to promote the "better stewardship of the environment and in development of an energy source that is not foreign based but domestically produced."

The point is that religious conservatives are will have to broaden their agendas and be willing to work on new issues, said Huckabee. They can do this without compromising on the essentials.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

NewsMax has a great interview with Governor Huckabee, which you can see in its original appearance here.

Because these articles often disappear from the web over time, we provide an excerpt for you below:

Mike Huckabee Answers His Critics: I Can Beat Hillary

Dave Eberhart, NewsMax

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Hillary Clinton will be tough to beat if she wins the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, says Mike Huckabee — who insists he's the GOP candidate who can beat Hillary in the general election.

In an exclusive NewsMax interview, the former Arkansas governor said he's the Republican candidate with the truest consistent conservative credentials, someone who has never "flip-flopped" on important issues.

"I have nothing to explain," Huckabee says with confidence. "I'm comfortable in my own skin."He said a centerpiece of his presidential campaign is a call for the implementation of the "fair tax" to replace the current federal tax system.

And as for his uphill battle to overtake the well-funded campaigns of Republican front-runners John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and Mitt Romney, Huckabee said: "It shouldn't be about who can raise the most money."

The busy Huckabee, 51, chatted with NewsMax from New Hampshire, where he landed at 2:00 a.m. Friday morning.

The two-term governor says that over the years he got to know Hillary, the former first lady of Arkansas, very well and that she is as "focused" as she can be on 2008."I take little stock when folks say they hope she wins the nomination because that will make it easy for us to win the general election. I believe just the opposite — that she will be a formidable opponent. I've seen her in action."

'Broken' Tax System Needs Fixing

When asked if any particular experience on the campaign trail convinced Huckabee that he was right to be running for the White House, he pointed without hesitation to a middle-aged man he met while on the stump in New Hampshire. The man wanted to get his daughter through a good college and began working an extra job and saving — only to find the "taxman at his elbow, ready to frustrate his ambitions at every turn."

"That's when I knew I was right in my thinking that it's not going to take an adjustment here and a turn of the wrench there to fix the broken tax system."

The solution, he decided, wasn't to fix up the old sagging house but to tear it down and begin building again at the foundation. The key: the "fair tax."

Huckabee described his vision: "I want to completely eliminate all federal income and payroll taxes. And do I mean all — personal federal, corporate federal, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, self-employment. Instead we will have the fair tax, a simple tax based on wealth.

"The fair tax will replace the Internal Revenue Code with a consumption tax, like the taxes on retail sales 45 states and the District of Columbia have now. All of us will get a monthly rebate to reimburse us for taxes on purchases up to the poverty line, so that we're not taxed on necessities.

"We'll be taxed on what we decide to buy, not what we happen to earn. We won't be taxed on what we choose to save or the interest those savings earn. The tax will apply only to new goods, so we can reduce our taxes further by buying a used car or computer."

Huckabee acknowledges that a couple of the other GOP candidates are talking about such a plan, but he is the only one who has put it front and center.

On Saturday, candidate Giuliani was jeered by several dozen people at a campaign stop when he said he didn't think a fair tax is "realistic."

Ex-governor Responds to Critics

Huckabee is on the record more than once saying, "I'm proud of my record as a fiscal conservative." But by the end of his second term as Arkansas governor, critics like the watchdog group Club for Growth note, he had raised sales taxes 37 percent, fuel taxes 16 percent, and cigarettes taxes 103 percent.

But Huckabee told NewsMax that the picture being drawn is too simplistic.

He explained that with respect to the tax increases, a state Supreme Court decision required immediate additional spending on education. The ruling came at a time when he had already cut the state budget 11 percent, and the choice was between raising taxes to fund the court order or being in contempt of court.

When he became governor, Arkansas had some of the "worst highways in the nation," he said. Over 80 percent of voters supported a four cent tax on diesel fuel to fix the roads. Similarly, a 1/8-cent increase in the sales tax was approved by the voters to preserve their natural and cultural heritage.

Huckabee said that as governor he would have "violated his oath of office" if he had tried to thwart the will of these voters.Recently, the National Review launched into Huckabee by charging that he was not the poster child for smaller government, citing the increase in state employees and spending during his tenure.

Once again, Huckabee explained the devil in the details.

With respect to the spending that he as governor had under his control — excluding federal pass-throughs and programs strictly controlled by the Democrat legislature — spending rose only about six-tenths of 1 percent a year during his 10 1/2-year tenure, he says.

As for the 20 percent growth in state employees during his tenure, Huckabee says he had no control over higher education and federally funded positions, "and when you remove those employees, the number of state employees increased 5.6 percent."

'No Negotiation' With Radical Islam

Leaving the past and addressing the future, NewsMax asked Huckabee if he has the mettle for the job of commander in chief.

Huckabee believes the premier virtue for the leader of the free world these dangerous days is a raw no-nonsense understanding of the immensity of the evil we are facing as a people and as a civilization: "This is not a typical geo-political war over boundaries, borders, or political bravado — it's a theological war with radical adherents to their religion who believe that their God has ordered them to purge earth of all that is not a part of their ‘pure' faith.

"There is no negotiation with those engaged in a theological war — it's naive and downright dangerous to believe they will leave us alone if we leave them alone. That's nonsense. They don't care if the war lasts 1,000 days or a 1,000 years — their goal is our annihilation and their supreme rule over the whole earth."

Positive and Upbeat

"Since the governor isn't one of the ‘anointed' top-tier candidates, the campaign decided early on to place high priority on earned media to help him gain name ID and visibility," spokeswoman Fedewa confided.

That effort was evident on Monday, when he scheduled a guest appearance on NBC's "Today" show, a 10 a.m. Eastern appearance on NPR's "On Point" with Tom Ashbrook, a 9 p.m. guest spot on Fox News' "Hannity and Colmes," and a 10 p.m. appearance on Alan Colmes' nationally syndicated radio program.

Meanwhile, the candidate is starting to register in the polls and has emerged from the second tier pack as the potential comer. At the least he is talked about as a possible vice presidential candidate who could anchor a presidential candidate like Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney to the GOP's base in the South and among evangelicals.

In any case, Huckabee remains positive and upbeat. When asked what sets him apart from the GOP frontrunners, he says: "My experience has uniquely prepared me in that I understand the struggle of the average American because of my childhood and having been a pastor, dealing with people at every level of life, and my long tenure as a governor, having actually run a government and having a strong record on education, healthcare, the environment, economic development, and government reform."

Saturday, July 07, 2007

We've been telling readers of this blog about what a great, Christian person Mike Huckabee is for going on three years. His faith infuses everything in his life, including how he makes his decisions, how he treats others, and how he reacts to crises like Hurricane Katrina.

Says Ambinder: A Democrat who works for a leading presidential candidate was stuck in an East Coast airport last night and ended up with a tale of bipartisan envy that would make David Broder blush. This Democrat, who asked for anonymity in order to share the story, e-mailed:

"I ended up waiting for the same flight as Gov. Huckabee. So I struck up a lengthy conversation with the Governor and discovered that Republicans are as annoyed with the on-time performance of airlines as Democrats. But what really struck me was how Gov. Huckabee remained calm, cool and collected in the face of a reported seven hour delay. Indeed, despite his obvious frustration with the delay (and almost total anonymity), Gov. Huckabee took the time to assist a woman and her 15 month old child down the jetway, carrying the child's bulky car seat."

"Not only that, Gov. Huckabee did not attempt to use his assistance of the woman and child to get on the plane before the regular boarding process. After assisting the woman, he dutifully returned to the boarding area to await his turn."

"Normally, I'm not in the habit of complimenting Republican presidential candidates - in fact, I'm pretty sure the Governor and I disagree on just about everything - but tonight I was thoroughly impressed by Gov. Huckabee as a human being."

Friday, July 06, 2007

It took some work to get this URL away from a squatter. And special kudos to Huckabee's campaign team who put this site together so fast. It looks great and its just in time to serve the crush of supporters soon to come.

Gov. Mike Huckabee achieved a lot as Arkansas' governor. But perhaps the most stellar of his achievements is the dramatic and truly jaw-dropping improvements in the state's education. You can see previous posts about that here , here and here.

Thats why educators, a traditionally democratic group, love him. Case in point: Yesterday Huckabee appeared before 9,000 delegates at the National Education Association convention, the only time in recent memory that a GOP candidate has been within 100 miles of it.

The "... surprise hit was former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. 'There's a perception that NEA is going to automatically be for a Democrat. I understand that,' Huckabee told reporters after getting a standing ovation."

"'But I found the best way I could overcome the sort of de facto vote is to go after it,' Huckabee said. 'I got 49 percent of the African-American vote in my election for governor in 1998. Find another Republican who's done that.'"

The warm reaction to Huckabee was rooted in part in the novelty of a Republican paying his respects. But he also hit some resonant notes by talking about the value of art and music in curriculum, the burdensome paperwork teachers face and his pride in sending all three of his children to public schools, 'kindergarten through the 12th grade.'"

"And Huckabee had one beautifully crafted line to set him apart from other Republicans who obsess on national security. 'If indeed an uneducated population is a form of terror we cannot possibly tolerate,' Huckabee said, 'then today I would like to propose that we would unleash weapons of mass instruction' ... the crowd loved it."

Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Lots of good stuff happening in the Huckabee camp for you to keep up with. Governor Huckabee's campaign is going to turn out to be the most unique in presidential election history -- breaking new ground in online communications and campaigning. Here's the latest:

1) Mark Allison who does lights and sound for Huckabee's band, Capitol Offense, is enroute driving to New Hampshire from Little Rock for a series of concerts. He is using Twitter to communicate with the online community about where he is on his trip, and will continue to use Twitter to provide up to the date “backstage” information on the Band, and the Governor. Check out his page here.

2) Steve Pyle is a singer in the band, and will also use Twitter to communicate beginning tomorrow. His page is found here.

3) You can participate in the preference poll where you get to vote for your favorite Capitol Offense cover song. The poll is here.

4) On Friday,the Governor and the band will be taking part in a BlogTalkRadio show. Information is on our BlogTalkRadio page found here.

Our YouTube page has some new videos from the Governor’s latest trip to Iowa . Continue to check back there as new videos are frequently added.

There are also some new MySpace graphics up on our official page found here.

The campaign has some big announcements coming in the next few days…stay tuned…..

Here's an article from the Concord Monitor about Gov. Huckabee's visit to New Hampshire this weekend. Huckabee's Band, Capitol Offense, will be playing a couple of concerts that will not be a great time and have a lot of great food, but will also be a unique once-in-a-lifetime political event. So all you political junkies go check it out!

By Dorgan, Liebowitz

Monitor staff

Jul 4, 2007

Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and his rock band, Capitol Offense, will play "Mustang Sally" when they come to Concord this weekend, if you want. Or "Jailhouse Rock."Or "Ain't Too Proud to Beg."

The concert, scheduled for Saturday at 4 p.m. at the ball fields behind Northeast Delta Dental, is a fundraiser for the campaign... It's also the second of two events being billed as the one-day-only Huckabee '08 New Hampshire Summer Concert Tour. (The other is a support-our-troops rally in Nashua at noon.)

As of yesterday afternoon, "Mustang Sally" held a narrow lead, with 17 percent of the votes. "Fortunate Son" had 16 percent of the votes. In order to see the results, we had to vote. (We chose "Taking Care of Business" because, well, we were). A tally on PollDaddy.com said it was one of 5,165 votes cast .

The concert is no ordinary fundraiser. Huckabee and his campaign staffers got creative, offering "very cool benefits" to people who donate to the campaign.A $500 donation makes you a "Silver Record Sponsor." Silver Record Sponsors receive two limited-edition Huckabee '08 New Hampshire Summer Concert Tour t-shirts - which are in the process of being designed but will reportedly be emblazoned with a guitar - a signed 8-by-10 photo of you and Huckabee, VIP seating and a signed copy of his 2007 book, From Hope to Higher Ground.

A $1,000 donation makes you a Gold Record Sponsor and scores you all the same swag as a Silver Record Sponsor plus a limited edition Huckabee '08 New Hampshire Summer Concert Tour denim jacket. Its design will be similar to the T-shirt.

And a $2,000 donation designates you a Platinum Record Sponsor. Those who elect to go platinum will receive guitars signed by Huckabee, courtesy of Daddy's Junky Music owner and Huckabee's New Hampshire campaign co-chairman Fred Bramante.

People who can't afford to go Platinum, or even Silver, can still attend the concert for $50. That price gets you a ticket to the show and a pass to an all-you-can-eat pig roast and barbecue.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Governor Mike Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister, is taking some time off Sundays from the campaign to preach, as an invited guest, at churches in Iowa. This is a powerful platform for religious conservatives to get to know Huckabee away from politics. He is a terrific political speech-maker. He is an even better preacher.

"The former Arkansas governor served regularly as an ordained Southern Baptist minister for 12 years before completely entering the political realm. Now that his presidential campaign is kicking into high gear, he sometimes receives requests to deliver sermons."

"Crossroads [Baptist Church] elder Doug Jackson said Huckabee is one of several guest speakers invited recently to the church, but that no other presidential candidates have received the same invitation. 'There are certain candidates that we would not allow here to preach," he said. "In fact, Governor Huckabee would probably be the only one to ever be allowed to preach here, because he's an ordained minister.'"

Sunday, July 01, 2007

Governor Huckabee participated in an Iowa candidate forum this weekend and according to David Yepsen of the Des Moines Register, he scored well with the GOP attendees: "Mike Huckabee scored well with the crowd at Saturday's forum while Mitt Romney, one of the leaders in the GOP race, lost ground when he declined to take a position on whether a national sales tax should replace the income tax."